How Documenting Your Customer Journey Can Transform Your Business

Feeling like you’re trying to navigate a maze when it comes to engaging and converting your leads? 

You’re not alone. 

Many businesses, big and small, struggle with attracting the right customers and communicating effectively.

It can feel like trying to hit a moving target in the dark. You want to grow your customer base, but without a clear strategy, you’re shooting arrows without knowing where the bullseye is.

That’s where we come in. At Greenfish Marketing, we’ve been in your shoes, and we’ve found the light switch. 

We’ve run customer journey workshops for numerous clients, and we’ve seen the incredible impact it can have on customer experiences and business processes.

Stick with us, and you’ll learn how to illuminate your path to success by understanding and documenting your customer journey. 

Let’s turn those obstacles into stepping stones together!

The Value of the Customer Journey

Let’s dive into some real talk here. You’ve probably heard the buzzword ‘Customer Journey’ — but what does it mean? And why should you care?

Imagine going on a road trip without GPS. It’s possible, but it’s going to be a lot harder to reach your destination. You’ll take a few wrong turns, end up on some dead-end streets, and maybe even run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. 

Not fun, right?

That’s exactly what running a business without understanding your customer journey feels like. It’s like driving blindfolded — hoping you’re heading in the right direction but never really knowing for sure.

The customer journey is the path that your customers take. Every step, from the moment they become aware of your business to the point where they make a purchase, and beyond. 

It’s their entire experience with your company. And it’s super important because it helps you see your business from your customers’ perspective.

When you document your customer journey, you’re essentially creating a roadmap for success. You’re gaining insights into what your customers want, need, and expect along each stage of their journey with you. 

This allows you to create strategies that are more effective, improve customer satisfaction, and boost your bottom line.

Understanding your customer journey is not just about making your business more customer-centric — although that’s a massive plus! It’s about making sure your business is heading in the right direction, armed with the right tools and strategies to navigate any bumps in the road.

So, ready to take control of your business journey? Buckle up, because we’re just getting started.

The Stages of the Customer Journey

Alright, let’s dive a bit deeper into the customer journey concept. DigitalMarketer has developed a specific framework known as the Customer Value Journey (CVJ). 

As a DigitalMarker Certified Partner, this is our go-to tool of choice.

It’s an eight-stage process that maps the path your customers follow, from becoming aware of your brand to becoming your loyal advocates.

Let’s break down the stages of the CVJ:

1. Awareness: This is when a potential customer first encounters your brand. They might see an ad, stumble upon your social media post, or hear about you through word-of-mouth.
2. Engagement: At this stage, the prospect interacts with your content. They might like, comment, or share your posts, or engage with your brand in other ways.
3. Subscription: Here, the prospect willingly provides their contact information (usually their email address) to receive more information or updates from you.
4. Conversion: This is the moment the prospect becomes a customer by making their first purchase.
5. Excitement: The customer has a positive experience with your product or service and shares their enthusiasm with friends, family, or on social media.
6. Ascension: Your customer is now primed to make additional purchases or upgrade to higher-ticket items or services.
7. Advocacy: Your customer is now a passive promoter of your brand. They’ll give you a review, participate in a case study, or invite others to you when prompted.
8. Promotion: At this point, your customer becomes an active promoter of your brand, referring others and sharing their positive experiences. Your customer’s advocacy leads to more people becoming aware of your brand, and the journey starts anew for those prospects.

By understanding and implementing the DigitalMarketer CVJ in your business, you can create a clear strategy for nurturing your customers throughout their journey with your brand. This helps you attract the right customers and convert leads, while also building long-lasting relationships and brand loyalty.

Now that you know the stages, let’s move on to designing your own Customer Value Journey. Onwards!

How to Create a Customer Journey Map

Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of creating your own Customer Value Journey. You might think it’s complicated, but it’s probably simpler than you think.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Identify Your Customer: Who’s your ideal customer? Understand their needs, wants, challenges, and how your product or service fits into their life. This will help you create a journey that resonates with them.
2. Map out Each Stage: Take each of the eight stages we mentioned earlier and map out what that looks like for your customers. Think about their interactions and experiences at each stage.
3. Identify Key Touchpoints: These are the interactions your customer has with your business throughout their journey. It could be an email, a social media post, a customer service call — anything that ‘touches’ the customer.
4. Create a Strategy for Each Stage: Now that you know your stages and touchpoints, create a specific strategy for each stage. This might involve creating targeted marketing campaigns, personalized emails, or special promotions.
5. Implement, Test, and Refine: Put your CVJ into action. Monitor how your customers move through each stage, collect feedback, and make improvements along the way. Remember, your CVJ isn’t set in stone — it should evolve with your business and your customers’ needs.

Designing your own CVJ might seem like a lot of work, but it will be a game-changer for your business. It gives you a clear roadmap for customer engagement, helps you attract the right folks, and, most importantly, turns leads into loyal customers.

Spotting Gaps and Opportunities in Your Customer Journey

Alright, you’ve got your Customer Value Journey mapped out and ready to rock. But what’s next? It’s time to put on your detective hat and start spotting gaps and opportunities.

First, let’s talk about identifying gaps. These are the places in your customer journey where things aren’t going quite as smoothly as they should be. Maybe your customers are getting stuck at a certain stage, or they’re not engaging with your content the way you’d hoped. 

These are your gaps — and they’re golden opportunities for improvement. So how do you spot these elusive gaps? 

Here are a few techniques:

1. Feedback and Surveys: Ask your customers directly. Surveys, feedback forms, or even direct conversations can provide invaluable insights into where your customers might be getting stuck.
2. Analytics: Dive into your data. Look for drop-offs in engagement or conversions. If you notice that customers are falling off at a certain stage, you’ve likely found a gap.
3. User Testing: Get a fresh set of eyes on your customer journey. Sometimes, being too close to your business can make it hard to spot issues. User testing can provide an outsider’s perspective.

Now, onto identifying opportunities – leveraging your customer journey map to optimize processes and convert leads. Your CVJ isn’t just a roadmap for your customers — it’s a roadmap for your business too. 

Here’s how you can use it to your advantage:

1. Tailor Your Marketing: Use your CVJ to create targeted marketing campaigns for each stage of the journey. This ensures you’re reaching your customers with the right message at the right time.
2. Improve Customer Service: With a clear CVJ, your customer service team can better understand your customers’ needs at each stage, leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Drive Conversions: By addressing gaps and enhancing the customer experience at each stage, you’ll naturally drive more conversions. After all, a happy customer is much more likely to make a purchase!

Spotting gaps and opportunities in your customer journey is like a treasure hunt. It requires some digging, but the rewards are well worth it.

Get an Outside Perspective

Okay, so we’ve made it clear that mapping your Customer Value Journey and spotting gaps is crucial, right? But here’s the kicker: Sometimes, being too close to your business can blind you to certain issues or opportunities. 

That’s where getting an outside perspective comes in.

Think about it. When you’re deep in the trenches of your business every day, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. An external perspective can help you see the bigger picture and identify opportunities you might have overlooked. 

Plus, experts who regularly work with different businesses across various sectors might spot industry trends or innovative strategies that you may not be aware of.

And that’s where Greenfish Marketing shines! Our Customer Journey Workshop is designed to provide that much-needed external perspective. We dive deep into your business, your customers, and your current strategies to help you craft a comprehensive and effective customer journey. 

We’ve been down this road with numerous businesses, and we’ve got the experience to guide you to success.

During the workshop, we’ll work with you to map your customer’s journey, identify gaps and opportunities, and create an action plan to elevate your customer experience and boost conversions.

The best part? We’re with you every step of the way, providing expert guidance and actionable insights. And the end result is a customer journey map that’s tailor-made for your business, poised to convert leads into loyal promoters.

So, are you ready to see your customer journey from a new perspective? 

Don’t miss out on the chance to elevate your customer experience and drive business growth. Book a strategy call with us today to find out more about our Customer Journey Workshop. Your future promoters are waiting!